Many existing retractors for surgical procedures utilize a single blade. For those instances where more than one blade is used, the retractors often have a configuration that is difficult to manipulate, and/or wherein the blades, when separated to displace tissue, are spread apart in an arcuate fashion, such that the blades are no longer parallel with the longitudinal axis of the retractor after the retractor is opened. In addition, retractors fail to include a locking mechanism, and cannot be readily interconnected to a mechanical arm to hold the position of the retractor.
Existing retractors with interchangeable blades typically place the connection with the interchangeable blade at the top of the blade. In addition, existing retractors with interchangeable blades have blades that clip on with the bulk of the retractor located on either side of the surgical wound instead of away from it. If during a spinal surgery a surgeon has a retractor in place and the pedicle screws have already been inserted into one or more vertebra during the surgery, and the surgeon then desires to subsequently tighten the pedicle screws, then if a bulky retractor is in place, the surgeon cannot readily access the screws. Accordingly, there is a need for a surgical retractor with interchangeable blades that places the bulk of the retractor away from the surgical wound.